Farah El-Sharif, a writer and academic specializing in Islam in Africa and the Levant, discusses the deep-rooted impacts of colonialism and systemic repression in the Middle East. She candidly critiques Muslim leaders' complicity in the suffering of Palestinians and challenges the internalization of the 'war on terror' rhetoric. El-Sharif argues that many relinquish dignity for prosperity while exploring the fragility of Middle Eastern regimes. Her insights highlight a call for solidarity and the urgent need for moral leadership among young Muslims.

Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek Minister of Finance and economist, critiques the downfall of capitalism and introduces his idea of 'Technofeudalism.' He argues that modern digital platforms operate as cloud fiefdoms, replacing traditional markets and creating a new economic hierarchy. The conversation touches on how major tech companies manipulate labor dynamics and user behavior, the influence of financial giants on innovation, and the crisis of digital identity that strips individuals of autonomy. Varoufakis advocates for a collective movement to reclaim economic power.

Mary Shelley, in the preface to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein, writes, “Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos.” In the chaos of war and inequity, cartoonist Joe Sacco pioneered the first graphic illustration journalism. Sacco has covered some of the most devastating warzones such as in Bosnia, which gave birth to his book, “Safe Area Gorazde,” and Gaza, which inspired “Footnotes in Gaza,” a book host Chris Hedges calls, “A masterpiece… one of the finest books done on the Palestine-Israel conflict, hands down.”   Sacco joins Hedges on this episode of The Chris Hedges Report to talk about his continued journey through chaos and how Israel’s genocide in Gaza influenced the newest iteration of his invention, his book “War on Gaza.”   Hedges quotes a question Sacco asks in the book, “Is it genocide or is it self-defense? Let's make everyone happy and say it is both. In that case, we'll need new terminology. I propose genocidal self-defense that should give both sides something to work with.”   Through visual renderings, dark humor and objective reporting, Sacco is able evoke responses to events playing out in ways traditional media can never achieve.   “You will find humor in places like Gaza, places like Bosnia, and it's always of the darkest sort. It's their way of sort of managing their own thoughts, being funny, but understanding the underlying darkness of their humor. And I think I picked that up and I'm reflecting it back,” Sacco tells Hedges.   The two reference several parts of Sacco’s new book, touching on the different ways the genocide has altered life in the West, including academic censorship, the question of democracy and biblical interpretation.   In the end, Sacco says it all comes back to his own personal life and the connection it has with such an atrocity. “I've always had this idea that whatever I'm paying in taxes really just adds up to one small piece of shrapnel. I mean, as a nightmare, I just imagine that all my money is funneled into a small part of a bomb that causes someone to lose their life in Gaza.”

“You can't just sit there and build drones and not talk about who it's serving and who does it help,” says Richard Solomon, PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and member of the Coalition for Palestine at MIT. On this episode of The Chris Hedges Report, Solomon and fellow MIT PhD student Prahlad Iyengar detail their battle against the historic institution’s active participation in the genocide in Gaza. Their story exemplifies the repression students face across the country who dare question how their work and labor are used to advance the illegal and morally reprehensible goals of the Israeli military. “What this ultimately means is that MIT's research can enable a genocide and in fact is enabling the ongoing genocide against Palestinians,” Iyengar states plainly. The two students have found themselves in hot water recently following Iynegar’s tepid encounter at an MIT career fair as well as an op-ed authored by the student coalition. Iyengar’s engagement with Lockheed Martin recruiters—where, after politely waiting in line at a career fair, he expressed his discomfort for their involvement in the genocide and climate crisis—resulted in him being charged with harassment and intimidation of the recruiters. The op-ed called out Daniela Rus, director of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, for the laboratory’s direct collaboration with the Israeli military. Rus successfully pressured MIT’s paper, The Tech, to retract the article despite presenting publicly available information and real ties to the Israeli military apparatus. “By introducing these technologies and by enabling these technologies,” Iyengar tells Hedges, “what is really being enabled by MIT's research for the Israeli military is the ability for drones to engage in tracking, in facial recognition, in targeting of Palestinians.” Solomon makes clear that the politicization of academic work is not novel and recently, MIT itself has distanced itself from projects that are tied to genocides or wars. “If MIT did it for the genocide in Darfur in 2008, if they could divest from the Draper labs, if they could, at one point, I think in 2022, they ended their relationships with a Russian university that they'd helped establish—I mean, if they can do those things over political crimes and acts and recognize them as political moves, they can also do the same for the Palestinians,” he says.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said, “The protection of hospitals during warfare is paramount and must be respected by all sides, at all times.” International law enshrines medical facilities as sanctuaries for those in direst need but as Dr. Rupa Marya tells host Chris Hedges on this episode of The Chris Hedges Report, Israel’s attacks on hospitals amidst the ongoing genocide represent a catastrophic violation of this principle. A professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, Marya now faces suspension for speaking out against Israel’s blatant violations of international law. “The killing of healthcare workers [in Gaza] is related to the silencing of healthcare workers here [in the U.S.], and that by silencing us, the medical institutions we are a part of, which have an obligation, professionally and morally, to uphold all life, are actually abetting and enabling genocide,” Marya tells Hedges. Marya describes the horror scenes at hospitals across Gaza. The IDF not only targets hospitals with airstrikes but also enters them to deploy gun strapped drones that kill patients and staff as well as destroy vital medical machines and instruments. “Hamas is not hiding in those machines. This is an attempt to shorten the life of Palestinian people,” Marya says. Mayra, collaborating with a handful of medical professionals and lawyers, is authoring a UN report, addressing what they refer to as “the genocide enablement apparatus of Israel.” Alongside bringing critical attention to the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system, they urge the inclusion of medical professionals future international legal frameworks for defining genocide. “It does not take months to see that this was a genocide. So for those of us who were in touch with the physicians on the ground and the healthcare workers on the ground in October, it was clear that this was a genocide.”

Saima Akhter, a former data analyst at Meta; Hossam Nasr, a former software engineer at Microsoft; and Tariq Ra’ouf, a former tech expert at Apple, discuss their courageous fight against Big Tech's suppression of pro-Palestinian voices. They expose systemic censorship within these companies and the personal repercussions they faced for speaking out. Tariq highlights how pro-Palestinian messages were targeted while harmful rhetoric went unchecked. The trio reflects on the ethical dilemmas of corporate complicity in geopolitical conflicts, emphasizing the urgent need for transparency and advocacy.

Rev. Munther Isaac, Pastor at the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, provides a poignant view on the true meaning of Christmas amidst ongoing suffering in Palestine. He discusses the connections between Jesus' story and the struggles of refugees today, emphasizing that Christmas must be a message of empathy and social justice. Through the lens of the Good Samaritan, he challenges the divisive nature of tribalism, reminding us that everyone is a neighbor, and urges a critical look at how faith interacts with activism in the context of modern conflicts.

Dr. Gabor Maté, a renowned physician renowned for his insights on trauma and childhood development, discusses the ongoing trauma faced by Palestinians in Gaza. He articulates the psychological impact of genocide and how it shapes resilience and moral sensibility. Delving into historical examples, Maté explores how ordinary individuals can become perpetrators of violence due to moral fragmentation stemming from their own traumas. The conversation emphasizes the importance of personal well-being in advocacy and the collective journey toward healing.

Alastair Crooke, a former British diplomat and Middle East expert, discusses the dramatic fall of Bashar al-Assad and its broad implications. He examines the role of rebel groups like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the strategic ambitions of Turkey and Israel in the region. The conversation delves into Syria's ongoing civil war and the dire humanitarian crisis it has caused. Crooke also critiques U.S.-Iran tensions, illustrating how geopolitical maneuvering continues to shape the Middle East's future amidst ongoing conflicts.

Matt Kennard, an investigative journalist and co-founder of Declassified UK, dives deep into the dark side of the American Empire. He discusses his book, revealing how U.S. intervention often masks exploitation under the guise of democracy. Kennard shares insights from Bolivia’s struggle for sovereignty and critiques the complicity of mainstream media in promoting imperial narratives. He also examines the UK-US dynamic and highlights how corporate interests shape perceptions around sensitive issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.